Stocking Up!

Happy New Year, dear readers!  I hope you had wonderful holidays and wish you the best for 2013. I made a resolution to blog more regularly, and here's my first step towards making that resolution a reality.  After some time away, I'm back in Halifax.  I had to restock the pantry and the freezer, and for me that meant making some vegetable stock.  It's so great to have on hand to make soups or sauces, and it adds just a little oomph to all those winter vegetable dishes when you swear you will never eat cabbage again! (I always do though).

One afternoon of work makes a freezer full of stock, and really, you can use any vegetables you like.  Best of all, nearly everything I used came from the farmers market, the only exception being the spices and celery. I like stronger onion-ish flavors, so I use both leeks and shallots, but you could just throw one onion in. I don't like carrot to be too overpowering in my stock, but if you love carrots, throw more in!  Mushrooms, potato peels, if it's hanging out in your refrigerator and you like the taste, it can go in stock.

I'm planning on making a faux chicken noodle soup soon, stay tuned!

Vegetable Stock
Makes about 14 cups of stock
Takes 1 hour of active cooking, plus simmering and cooling

4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
5 leeks, sliced
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
10 twigs of thyme
10 peppercorns
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
10 stalks of parsley
16 cups water

In a large stock pot, heat some olive oil on high heat.  Add carrots, celery, leeks, shallots, garlic, thyme, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves.  Saute for 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to caramelize.  Add parsley and water.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Let cool, and portion into containers.  Will keep in refrigerator for about 3 days, or in the freezer for a couple of months.

Lemon rasam

I can't believe I've never posted a recipe for rasam.  It is one of my favorite foods, eaten every day in Tamil Nadu, where my family is from, and now I eat it at least once a week.  There are many different varieties: thakkali rasam, made with tomatoes and tamarind and the most basic; garlic rasam; jeera rasam, made with cumin; milagu rasam, made with lots of black pepper; and some people even make pineapple rasam!  I'm not into it, I have to say.

My favorite is lemon rasam, made with limes, but in my family always called lemon. In India the lemons are small and yellow, kind of like key limes, but in America, we buy limes for rasam.  This rasam is very light, but when well made, it has a perfect balance of salty, sour and spicy.

Now I remember why I have never written a recipe for rasam: no matter how determined I am in the beginning of cooking to keep track of what I am doing, I always forget in the final stages when I add a little more salt, and then a little more sambhar powder. This recipe is a guideline, but you will have to trust your tastebuds to get the flavor just right.  Good luck!  It's worth it.

Lemon Rasam

Makes 2/3 servings

Takes busy 30 minutes

1/2 cup toor dal

2 medium tomatoes, cut into eighths

4 1/2 cups water

2 dashes asafetida

1 1/2 teaspoons sambhar powder

2 teaspoons salt

12 curry leaves (one sprig)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

big handful cilantro, washed and chopped

1 lime, halved

On high heat, bring toor dal and 2 cups of water to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook until lentils are done, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pot, bring to a boil tomatoes, water, asafetida, sambhar powder, salt, and curry leaves.  When it boils, turn it down a little, and let boil until it has reduced a bit and the tomatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes.  You will have to taste it: it should taste both spicy and salty, but not too much of either.  You might need to put in more sambhar powder, then it might need more salt.  When it tastes balanced to you--the right amount of salty and the right amount of spicy but not too much of either--then it's done.

In a little pan, heat oil on high.  When the oil is hot, put the mustard seeds in the pan, and when they pop, take off heat and pour into rasam.  

When the lentils are cooked, drain if necessary, and pour into rasam.  Squeeze one lime half into the rasam.  Taste.  Maybe it will need more lime, squeeze another half in.  Taste it again.  Good?

Then you are done!  Top with cilantro.  Rasam is good on its own, or you can eat it with rice and vegetable curries.  My favorite combos are lemon rasam and Green Beans Parappusili, or Spinach and carrot salad!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  It's been a busy summer!  More soon.

TGiPho!

Readers, I don't know why I haven't made Pho before. I love the fragrant soup, the drama of adding toppings to your bowls, fixing the spiciness with green chilies and siracha sauce. It's hard to find vegetarian pho, at many Vietnamese restaurants, their vegetarian option is a version of Tom Yum, spicy and sour and delicious, but I end up jealous of my meat-eating friends and their bowls that smell of cinnamon and ginger and star anise.

In the Bay Area you can find several vegetarian vietnamese restaurants, and my favorite is Tofoo Com Chay in San Jose.   I think the owners of these restaurants are followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai and her message of veganism and climate responsibility.  Supreme Master fliers are on hand in the restaurant--I particularly like the messages from the animals.

This recipe makes enough broth for 8 servings of pho.  Or you could do what I did, have some that night, and save the broth in the freezer for 6 more bowls of pho! 

It's a very simple broth that can be adapted in your bowls.  Top it as you like, with more or less chilies and vegetables and herbs.  We can't find many of the garnishes provided in California pho shops like Thai Basil or culantro, so we just use cilantro and mint.  The first night I made the pho, we had tofu, the second we used my victory seitan. We found some pea sprouts at the local grocery, and that was really good.  Anything goes!

An added bonus: our house smelled amazing while the broth was simmering!

Vegetarian Pho

Makes 8 servings

Takes 1 (busy) hour

For Broth

2 medium onions

1 4-inch piece of ginger

1 cinnamon stick

5-6 stars of anise

6 cloves

For Bowls

Steamed cabbage

Noodles

Bean sprouts

Pea sprouts

Sliced shallots

Sliced green onions

Tofu

Seitan

Cilantro

Mint

Green Chilis

Lime

In the broiler or on the stove, char the onions and garlic until the skins are mostly blackened.  Let cool.

In a large pot, on medium heat, toast the cinnamon, star anise and cloves until they are very toasty and fragrant (do not burn!).  Add 10 cups of water, and bring to a boil on medium high heat.

Meanwhile, your ginger and onions should be cool.  Peel the onions and ginger, and then rinse them under water to remove all the charred bits.  Chop coarsely and add to the pot.  When the pot comes to a boil, turn the heat down to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

While that is happening you can prep your ingredients for the bowls.  For the noodles, place the dry noodles in a large heat-proof bowl and cover with bowling water.  Cover the bowl and let steep for 20 minutes.  This should be enough to cook the noodles, but gently simmer them for 5 to 10 minutes more if they are not cooked.

I like to cut my tofu into blocks and saute them on medium heat until golden on all sides.  I then cut them into little rectangles.

Thinly slice shallots and green onions, green chilies.  You can't see it in any of the pictures, but I gently steamed some cabbage for our pho as well.

By this time your broth should be ready.  Uncover the pot and take in the amazing smell.  Drain, very carefully, it's a big pot of hot liquid! Return the broth to very low heat and add 1 Tablespoon of salt.  Keep it warm, assemble your bowls.

Check the saltiness of the broth and add as much more salt as you like.  You can later add soy sauce or hoisin sauce to the individual bowls.  Pour into the bowls and enjoy! 

Thanks ladies!

Tomato Bread Soup

I've never eaten bread soup before, but I've always been intrigued by the idea of turning stale bread into a thick soup.  We had half a baguette and the last of the tomatoes from the farmers market and it seemed the perfect chance to try this out.  Since it is cold and I am developing a cold, the idea of a supposedly hearty tomato soup especially pinged my heart.  This one has some Spanish flavours, smoked paprika and a red pepper, but those could be taken out and replaced with simple perfect basil.

Bread Soup

Makes 4 servings

Takes 1 hour

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 small carrot, chopped

2 small onions, diced

1 not so hot chile (this was from my local farmer's market - not so spicy, a red pepper would be ok)

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

5 thick slices of stale bread, crusts removed (and saved*), and cut into 2 inch cubes

6 tomatoes, diced

a few sprigs parsley

1 tsp. salt (probably more)

4 cups of water

In a pot on medium high heat, saute the onions, carrot and garlic in olive oil until onions get translucent and begin to brown.  Add the chile, and saute for a moment before adding smoked paprika and pepper.  Stir until the oil looks red, about 2 minutes.

Add white wine, let combine for a minute, and the stir in bread.  It will soak up all the liquid!

Let it sit for a couple of minutes, absorbing, and then add tomatoes and parsley.  Stir a bit, and then let the bread absorb some more.

Add salt and 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.  Simmer, uncovered for about 45 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and breaking up.

*  I made croutons with my bread crusts!  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toast in an oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Make sure you check on them about half way through.  Great on top of the soup!  If you can stop yourself from eating them right away!

Curry Turnip Noodle Soup

Turnips are abundant this time of year, and I have been pickling them and making them into curries.  I first got inspired to make curried turnips a few years ago when my mom made a sambhar with turnips.  At first I did not appreciate the sharp nasal tang of the turnips with the sambhar, but the taste stuck with me, and this fall, I experimented with making my own curried turnips.  So good!  Gently braising the turnips brings out their sweetness, and so the final product is sharp and sweet and spicy and salty.  I love curry noodle soups, so I thought this was a chance to see if it would all work together. 

It did!  This is a fusion recipe that brings together East Asian, Indian, and turnip tastes into a hot bowl of yum.

Curry Turnip Noodle Soup

Makes 2 big bowls of soup

Takes 30 minutes

1 bunch turnips, quartered (stems and leaves cleaned and saved)

1 tsp. curry powder (I use sambhar powder)

1 small onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, sliced

pepper

salt

spaghetti (I had some opened already!  any noodles you like will be fine - rice noodles, soba, udon, etc)

Start a pot of salted water for the noodles.

In another pot, saute onion and garlic on medium high heat.  When they've softened, add turnips and brown, taking care to ensure they don't burn.  Then add sambhar powder and pepper, and saute until the sambhar powder is very fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of water, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until turnips are soft, but still maintaining their shape.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in pot of already started salted water according to package directions.  For the last minute of cooking add the cleaned turnip greens.  When finished, drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water.  Equally divide the noodles and greens between two bowls.

When the turnips are soft, add the pasta water and check for salt.  Add more sambhar powder if necessary.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  When you are happy with the taste, pour the turnips and their broth over the noodles and greens in the bowls.  Happy slurping!

busy busy bean soup

This was the perfect soup to have simmering away on the stove while I was working.  Wednesdays are our busy nights with yoga and basketball, so this soup was ready for the boyfriend before he headed off to basketball, and I ate this when I came home from yoga.  If I had some thyme or rosemary I would have put that in too, with the tomatoes I think.  But, the soup was pretty good just as it is.  If I had thought it out better, I would have made the focaccia I baked on Thursday on Wednesday to eat with the soup.  Together, they are making a pretty good lunch today!

I did very little to change the focaccia recipe.  I let the dough rise for 1 and half hours for its first rise, and probably an hour and a half for it's second rise.  I got caught up running some errands!  It's a beautiful dough that was very forgiving, and the focaccia is dense and yummy.  We didn't have rosemary so we topped ours with olives throughout, and some crushed red pepper on one quarter, some oregano on another quarter, and some onions on a little strip.  All variations were delicious!

Bean Soup (Basically Minestrone)

Makes 6 servings

Takes 3 hours

1 cup dried white beans

4 cups water

1 onion, sliced

4 small cloves of garlic, sliced

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 bay leaf

10 peppercorns

1 16 oz. jar of tomatoes

2 carrots, diced

1 package frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup orzo

If you remember, or are good at planning ahead, put the beans and four cups of water in a bowl, cover, and let sit overnight.  Otherwise, in a bowl, cover white beans with 4 cups of boiling water and let sit for 1 hour.

In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in some olive oil (enough to cover bottom of pot).  When they begin to soften, add the smoked paprika and cook until the oil turns red and the onions are completely translucent.  Add the bay leaf and peppercorns and cook a bit more.

Drain the beans and add to the pot, stirring well.  Let cook for a minute or two.  Add the jar of tomatoes, salt (1 tsp. for now*) and then 2 jars of water.  Raise heat so that it boils, and then reduce heat back to medium and let simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to 1 hour.  Check for salt and doneness of beans, and when you are satisfied with the beans being cooked, add carrots.  Start water for pasta and cook a few minutes shorter than package directions.  Add pasta and spinach to soup and cook for a few more minutes.  If you are going to serve it later, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit until you are ready to reheat.

* I ended up using 2 and a half spoons of salt in the soup (plus more in the water for cooking pasta).  It was a little on the salty side...

Focaccia with Olives

from Bon Appetit, May 1995

Makes 8 very big servings

Takes 4 hours total rising and baking time

2 cups warm water (105°F  to 115°F - it is very important that your water is not too hot.  too cold is fine)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (not instant)

4 1/2 cups (about) all purpose flour (I used bread flour)

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

24 black or green brine-cured olives (such as Kalamata or Greek), pitted, halved
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried

Place 2 cups warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle dry yeast over; stir with fork. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes.

Add 4 1/4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture and stir to blend well (dough will be sticky). Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is sticky, about 10 minutes. Form dough into ball. Oil large bowl; add dough, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  There is nowhere in my house that is warm right now, so I put it in the oven with the light on.

Punch down dough; knead into ball and return to same bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area until doubled, about 45 minutes or less.

Coat a large, lipped baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil. Punch down dough.  At this stage, mine was so beautiful!  With all those long gluten strings that you are supposed to swoon over in your bread dough.  And readers, I did swoon, but I forgot to take a photograph.  Next time...

Transfer to prepared sheet. Using fingertips, press out dough to edges of the sheet, this will be difficult because the dough will want to contract.  Persevere.  Let dough rest 10 minutes.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil over dough. Sprinkle olives and chopped rosemary evenly over. Let dough rise uncovered in warm area until puffy, about 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 475°F. Press fingertips all over dough, forming indentations. Bake bread until brown and crusty, about 20 minutes. Serve bread warm or at room temperature.

We couldn't stop ourselves from eating before the picture was taken!

onion rava masala dosai and sambhar

I've been working on two blog posts, one of my last meal in Halifax, onion rava masala dosai, which I am posting here now.  And one on my first meal in London, dal and cauliflower curry, which I'll post tomorrow.  This recipe is for dosai, potato curry and sambhar!  I've tried to write it the way I made it so that everything is ready at the right time.  I also recommend reading it all the way through before you begin because there are a lot of parts.  But I promise, it's not that hard.

Did you guys see in the new and last Gourmet that they had a recipe for Rava dosai?!  Theirs was all wrong.  Way too much flour.  And peas and chickpeas in the potato masala?!  Quelle horreur!

onion rava masala dosai and sambhar

Takes 2 hours

Makes enough for 4

Begin with the sambhar, because as it's simmering, you can get everything else ready.  You can also make the sambhar ahead of time, because it only gets better as it sits.

chinna vengyam sambhar (little onion sambhar)

1 cup toor dal

golf-ball size tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup hot water for about 15 minutes

1 pound baby onions

2 big tomatoes, quartered

1 tbsp sambhar powder*

1 green or red chili

salt to taste

1 tsp. mustard seeds

curry leaves from one stem

1 dried red chilli (or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper)

2 shakes aesofotida

freshly chopped corriander leaves for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils and 3 cups of water to a boil.  Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  While it's cooking, chop the ends off of the onions, and peel.  I find it helpful to have a bowl of water nearby to put the onions in once they are peeled.  They are so potent those little ones!

In another pot, heat oil on medium high heat.  When hot, add baby onions, saute until slightly translucent.  Add sambhar powder, chili and tomatoes, and the tamarind juice.  Squeeze all the tamarind juice and pulp from the remaining harder bits.  Add an additional 2 cups of water.  Bring to a simmer.

When the dal is ready, add it to the other pot.  Continue cooking at a simmer, until it is well-blended and smelling so delicious.  You can jump at this point to the other parts of the meal.  At some point you will have to add the other ingredients.  Here's what you do when you are ready for that part:

In a little pan, heat a little oil on medium high heat.  When hot, add the mustard seeds.  As soon as they start sizzling, add the dried chili, the curry leaves and the asofetida.  As soon as they start popping, pour it all into the sambhar.

This can sit while you are making other things, like the dosai.

Onion rava dosai

1 c. rava (semolina)

1/2 c. rice flour

1/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 green chili, sliced fine

1 onion, diced fine

curry leaves, if you have them

salt

water

Combine all ingredients and add water, 4 to 5 cups, it will depend on the consistency of the yogurt you use, so it is better to add 3 cups of water first, mix it together and then decide. The batter should be very runny, it should fall easily from the spoon. The real test will be when you make your first dosai.

Leave the batter sit while you make the potato curry.

potato curry
1 tbsp. channa dal

1 onion, diced

1 green chili, sliced lengthwise

4 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp. turmeric

2 shakes asofetida

1/2 tsp. red chili powder

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. When the oil is hot, add the the channa dal, and toast until they are fragrant and light brown. Add the onions and green chili. When the onions are translucent, add the potatoes, turmeric, asofetida, chili powder and salt. Saute until the potatoes are evenly coated and everything is very fragrant. Add a cup of water, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes. Check at this point for salt, if the curry needs more water, and how well the potatoes are done. Adjust as necessary. Cook for about 5 minutes more, depending on doneness of potatoes. It will be ready when the potatoes hold their shape, but are soft around the edges and in a sea of yummy yellow potato curry. When finished, squeeze lime on potatoes and sprinkle with cilantro.

Back to the dosai.

The most important thing about making dosais is to have your pan at the right heat and your batter the right consistency. Heat a skillet to almost but not quite high and add just enough oil to lightly coat the pan. Stir your batter, and when you think the pan is ready, spoon a small amount onto the griddle. It should immediately make a lacy round. If it runs everywhere, your heat is too low. If it sticks and doesn't have holes, then the heat is too high. Another problem can be your batter. If the pan seems hot enough, but holes are still not forming, then add water to the batter.

When you think you are ready for a real dosai: quickly ladle one spoon of batter (we use a 1/2 cup measure) onto the griddle to make a circle.  It doesn't matter what shape your dosai is really, as long as the dosai is thin and crispy and delicious.

Add a little extra oil to the dosai as it cooks for extra crispiness. Swirl the pan around so the oil coasts all the edges, and even spread to the inner holes of the dosai.

When it has fried for about 2 minutes, or the edges are easy to lift from the griddle, flip it over. This is mostly to admire your handiwork. What had been the bottom should be a deliciously golden brown lacework of yumminess. After a minute flip it over again. Place a spoonful of the potato curry in the middle of the dosai, flip one side of the dosai over it, and serve with a bowl of hot sambhar.

Keep making dosais, about 12 in all. Keep stirring the batter as it will separate.

The batter keeps well, better than cooked dosais.

I wish I had some now...

 

* some words on sambhar powder.  Ours is ground for us at my family's mill in Chidambaram.  If you can't stop by Veeraraghavanaickan Street for some, I suggest MTR brand.  It's from Tamil Nadu, unlike other spices.  Or 777, I think, makes some powders.  Otherwise, this very nice blog has a recipe for sambhar powder.  Some friends and I made some recently, not according to this recipe, but a similar one, and it came out beautifully!

Corn Chowder

This might be my last post for awhile as I leave for London tomorrow.   Soon I will be hungry for Halifax!

I was really impressed by Kevin from Top Chef's Quickfire "deconstructed green bean casserole" from two weeks ago.  He made a corn pudding, topped with a confit of tomatoes and green peas that looked delicious.  So I thought I would make a corn chowder with a little tomato salad to go on top.  It was sooo good.  The soup was really creamy and simple.  And the tomato salad and the red peppers we had on the side, were perfect complements.

Vegan Corn Chowdah

Takes 30 minutes

Makes 4 big bowls of soup

1/2 large onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, sliced

1 very large potato, cubed

2 ears corn, shucked (not really sure if this is the right word.  get the kernels off the ears people)

4 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a pot on medium high heat, add some olive oil.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add the potatoes and black pepper and saute for a couple of minutes.  Add the water and a 1/2 tsp. of salt.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer.  After about 5 minutes, add the corn, and cook for about 5 minutes more.

Puree with a hand blender, or in batches in a regular blender.  Check for salt.

Tomato Confit

Takes 30 minutes

Makes 4 soup toppings

10 tomatoes, small yellow ones

salt

pepper

olive oil

basil or parsley or any herbs you want

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut tomatoes into quarters.  Toss with some olive oil, the salt and pepper and herbs.  Put into an oven-proof pan and "confit" for 20 minutes.

This would be so good on toast!

We ate the soup with roasted peppers--red and long skinny green one that was a little spicy.

I also made a new loaf of bread.  More on that experiment gone wrong later.  Wasn't it the cutest little dough ball though?

Dissertation here I come!

baby it's cold outside bread and soup

Brrrrr. It is already cold here in Halifax.

We've been baking a lot of bread this fall, inspired by Bittman's no-knead bread. I like Smitten Kitchen's write-up, that was the one that really inspired me to try the recipe. The boyfriend has particularly loved making bread, and he keeps turning out loaves, each one better than the last.


The only suggestion I can add to this now classic recipe is to use parchment paper instead of the kitchen towels! We've already thrown out two towels because they were irredeemably sticky. We've even tried this recipe with a multi-grain bread flour. Not quite as light and fluffy, but still very good.

It will probably remain our everyday bread, but I must confess, I have a new favorite. And it was because we had all this multi-grain flour that I searched and discovered this recipe from the February Gourmet (R.I.P) for Cracked-Wheat Topknots. Readers, they are delicious. We each ate three yesterday, and the remaining six today! And I have another dozen in the oven now! I made half the recipe, and used only Robin Hood Multi-grain Bread Blend as it already has all-purpose flour in it. Since the boyfriend is lactose intolerant and allergic to eggs, I used lactose free milk, Smart Balance spread, and glazed them with milk instead of eggwash. Next time I'm going to try olive oil, since I don't really like the idea of using margarine, even a glorified one.

The batch in the oven now look even better than the ones for yesterday!


Last night we ate it with a modified version of this soup, a Basque Tuscan fusion soup of kale, potato and white beans. It's for dinner again tonight.



Sorta vegan cracked-wheat top knots
adapted from Ruth Cousineau's recipe from the February 2009 Gourmet (R. I. P)

makes 1 dozen rolls
takes 6 hours

3/4 cup boiling-hot water
1/4 cup medium bulgar (cracked wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 1/8 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. warm water
2 1/4 cups Multi-grain bread flour
Large grain sea salt
All-Purpose flour for kneading

In a small bowl, cover the bulgar with the 3/4 cup boiling hot water and 1/4 tsp. salt and let stand for 40 minutes.

Proof the yeast with the honey and warm water until foamy, 5 minutes.

Heat the milk and butter (or butter substitute), just until the butter (or substitute) is melted.

Once the yeast is proofed, add the flour and the remaining 1 1/4 tsp. salt.

Drain the bulgar, and add it and the liquid mixture to the yeast/flour and stir until it is a sticky mess. Turn it out onto a surface covered with A-P flour and knead for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it is smooth.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn it over until it is all greased. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave to rise in a warm place until double, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (nb. I let my bread rise in my oven, which I had heated to 150 (the lowest possible temperature), and then let cool. it worked really well, esp. since my apartment might as well be an ice box)).

Once the dough is risen (like christ on easter), prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Punch down and divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls. I do this by first dividing the dough in two equal parts, dividing each of those into 2 more parts (for a total of 4), and then dividing each of those quarter balls into three more.

Take each little ball and roll into a 12 inch snake. If you greased the dough properly for its rise, than you won't need additional flour. Tie the dough snake into a knot, tucking the ends around any which way you prefer. (no two of mine look the same). Space each topknot about 2 inches apart, and let rise for another hour to hour and a half.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Brush rolls with milk and sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until your house smells so good you can't stand it anymore.

Cool until they (barely) don't burn your fingers.

 



Tuscan/Basque white bean and kale soup
adapted from a Gourmet (R.I.P) recipe from February 2004

Makes 4 dinner-sized servings
Takes 2 hours

1/2 cup dried white beans
2 cups water
olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 1/2 qts water
3 fresh parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 clove
1/2 pound potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 pound kale, roughly chopped
1 medium-large tomato, chopped
some basil

Bring beans and 2 cups of water to a boil. Turn heat off, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

In a heavy pot (I love my le creuset knock off), saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add the smoked paprika and saute until it is fragrant.

Add the water, beans, parsley, clove, and bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes.

Add potatoes and kale, and cook a further 10 to 15 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Toss in some fresh basil at the end if you have some.

Serve soup with topknots. Look, mine are out of the oven now.